By BJOERN H. AMLAND
OSLO, Norway - A Norwegian shipping magnate was strongly criticized Wednesday for suggesting that pirates captured off the Horn of Africa should be sunk with their skiffs or executed on the spot.

"When (piracy) implies a great risk of being caught and hanged, and the cost of losing ships and weapons becomes too big, it will decrease and eventually disappear," Jacob Stolt-Nielsen said in an op-ed in Norwegian financial newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv.

The 79-year-old is the founder of Stolt-Nielsen Ltd, one of Norway's biggest shipping companies. He stepped down as chairman two years ago but still serves on the board.

"Pirates captured in international waters have always been punished by death, often on the spot," Stolt-Nielsen wrote Tuesday, arguing that modern navies should deal with the problem like Roman pirate hunter Pompey did more than 2,000 years ago.

"Not arrest them and say, 'naughty, naughty, shame on you,' and release them again, but sink their boats with all hands," he wrote. "The pirates won't be frightened by being placed before a civilian court."

The article drew sharp criticism in Norway, a seafaring nation known as a peace broker in many of the world's armed conflicts and as the home of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jacqueline Smith, president of the Norwegian Seafarers Union, described Stolt-Nielsen's views as "barbaric" and said killing pirates could endanger the 700 seafarers now held as hostages in Somalia.

Piracy in the busy shipping lanes off the African nation has flourished since its government collapsed in 1991.

Erik Lahnstein, state secretary at Norway's Foreign Ministry, said basic human rights must apply also to pirates, and noted that "even for the most gruesome crimes, we do not have death penalty in Norway."

Stolt-Nielsen acknowledged that killing pirates could trigger a backlash against crews held hostage. "But you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. This is war and warfare costs lives," he wrote.

The company issued a statement emphasizing that the comments in the article reflected "Mr. Jacob Stolt-Nielsen's own personal opinion."

The company's ships have been exposed to pirate attacks off Somalia's coast and some of them now carry armed guards. Other ship owners have taken similar steps to protect their ships and their crews.

Meanwhile, in Somalia, the bodies of eight pirates killed in a commando raid last month on a South Korean freighter were brought to Mogadishu's airport, said Ibrahim Iman, the airport manager. South Korean commandos raided the chemical carrier Samho Jewelry and freed the crew of 21.

Halima Hassan, a sister of one of the dead pirates, said her brother was innocent and was killed as he was guarding the coast "from illegal fishing vessels."

Piracy attacks off Somalia began in retaliation for illegal shipping off the coast, though the piracy industry has evolved into a multimillion dollar business with near daily attacks.

---

AP reporters Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia, and Hyung-Jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

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They're pirates....kill them on the spot....they do not operate under a flag or nationality...and on the "high seas"...they deserve no quarter...so I agree....kill them all on sight...and sink their ships on approach.

john1054

Posted Feb-16-2011 By

Francois44

The somali western backed 'transitional' government actually has alliances with the pirates and warlords against the religious militias there. In the fall of 2010 one of the militias occupied on of the port cities that pirates had been using and vowed to release any hostages and boats. Most of the pirates fled with their loot before they could be captured though. Piracy is viewed as the same as highway robbery, any of the pirates taken prisoner wouldn't have been alive for long.

Posted Feb-17-2011 By

asylumta2

Posted Feb-17-2011 By

-HUNTER-

I wonder if this has happened already, I would like to think it has. If I was a captain of a boat and a little skiff with a bunch of skinnies shooting like madmen, and my boat had a few weapons, like a 50 cal. I wouldn't hesitate to take the pirates and the boat out if I knew I could get away with it, otherwise it would be a hassle with all the questions and laws and stuff like that, but, if know one is looking...

Posted Feb-16-2011 By

jen8933

Oh God, the comment by the pirate's sister towards the end of the article. Are these people really that fucking stupid? Don't stop at the pirates if they really believe that garbage just schwack everyone.

Posted Feb-16-2011 By

OhioYankee

Those pirates attacked the ship 520 miles away. Ain't no territorial waters that far off the coast of Somalia or any other nation. It's all about greed to them. Ain't about fishing anymore- just an excuse to look like a victim. It's why they're called pirates. Time for more lessons like the Koreans dished out.

Posted Feb-18-2011 By

LoPull

I grew up on tales of Davey Jones, Black Beard, Long John Silver and Captain Morgan, but when actually got to see the ocean and be on it, fucking HATED IT! The salt air burned and stung my eyes and the waves... uuurp, fuck.
We were on a zodiac whale watching in the Atlantic, waves higher than the fucking boat. I played the hard man and lit up a cigarette while everyone else was puking their guts up. Bad idea. I joined them after the first three draws on it.
I'm a land lubber throughMore.. and through after that, gimme bush bramble and thorn any day, as long as there's earth underfoot.

Posted Feb-18-2011 By

michael567

one of my favorite times in history--i mean to study, i wasn't there:)
but that was brilliant huh? let the crims take the major risk, insulate your navy and country from blame and reap the booty baby.
it's all good the spanish robbed it from the americans in the most horrible way so fairs fair in war.
a bit of a tip:
if any of you are interested in spanish theft of that time, there is a museum in key west (mel fisher's) that contains lots of gold silver and precious artifacts from a spanishMore.. ship wreck.
it probably has info on the net.Less..

Posted Feb-18-2011 By

jen8933

Kinda like the States does on land with "security firms," like Black Water for instance. Mercenaries have come back in style now.
They do all kinds of murder and mayhem for the US -- and they take none of the blame.
If you're a real student of history, check out the last time mercenaries were used a lot in Europe, trouble is when warriors get hired for cash, it's in their vested interest to make sure there's always a war ... Europe's last mercenary venture was called The Hundred Years More..War ... remind you of any prolonged conflicts going on today involving mercenary units or those that make a living off of war?Less..

Posted Feb-17-2011 By

jim_a49

Posted Feb-16-2011 By

juchat

tbf the sea is so big, if the pirates try taking aship, theres only a tiny chance that someone else on another will see it happen. what does that mean? BUCK SHOT THE FUCKERS. if they are trying to board your ship, you have every right to defend it. (plus i want to see some liveleak vids of sailors mowing down pirates in a boat with a minigun =D)